CAMARILLO : Board OKs Use of Controversial Texts
Pleasant Valley Elementary School District trustees approved a controversial set of history and social science textbooks Thursday for use during the next school year.
The books, published by Houghton Mifflin, incorporate geography, archeology, language, the arts and other areas for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. The texts introduce a new method of teaching history by including information on non-Western and non-European cultures.
The books were approved for use in October by the State Board of Education, but not before they were criticized as being insensitive to Latinos, blacks, Jews, Muslims and gays. Houghton Mifflin made enough changes to get the state’s approval. Several school districts in Ventura County are considering using the textbooks and have had the books and supporting materials on display for public review since late November.
The Pleasant Valley School District will spend $132,778 of its state textbook money to purchase the texts.
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